I have a 98 Ford F250 XLT 4X4 5.4L with about 480,000 km (300,000 miles), and I have a broken catalytic converter on the passenger side - visible split right in the center,strong exhaust smell when running, and it rattles like crazy.

Ultimately I'm replacing the exhaust manifolds on both sides with Gibson headers, and fixing up the rest of the exhaust but for now I'd just like some fuel economy and power back - pretty sure the cat is clogged nearly completely.

Does anyone have some suggestions on how to remove the cat? It's welded in place, and it's a fairly small area to try cutting in.

 

Only way is to cut it. Either cut in place, or remove that section of tubing and cut the cat off.